Jump to content
HybridZ

LS1 Fuel tank install


CruxGNZ

Recommended Posts

I recieved my 2002 LS1 Camaro fuel tank today! :D 8) So, I'm going to document the install into my '73 240Z. This fuel tank idea came from mas280 and jeromio. The stock pump will supply my Buick engine for break in. After that I'll be upgrading to a bigger pump.

 

Reasons for doing this fuel tank install:

1. Got the tank, sending unit, fuel neck, and stock pump for $100

2. I didn't want to use a fuel cell and install it in the hatch, I wanted something underneath the car.

3. I wanted the quiet intank pump

4. It should be a pretty easy install.

5. As long as I'm cutting up the rear floor, why not relocate the battery to underneath the floor.

 

The spare tire well took just minutes to cut out. A test fit of the tank shows that I will be able to connect the Camaro tank filler neck to the stock 240 filler tube.

 

Afer the tank is hung, I will use the 240Z's pressboard spare tire well cover as a template for the sheet metal that will get welded inside, were the spare tire well used to be. In this piece of metal, I will cut a hole above the tank's module (sending unit/pump) and hinge a door on to it. This will make it very easy to remove the module when I change to a bigger pump (or if I have problems). Sure I can always drop the tank, but this is a lot easier. I will make a door above the battery also. Should be able to pull all this off this weekend, weather permiting :roll:

 

LS1 Fuel tank

Spare tire well before

SPare tire well after

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now Mat be sure to hook up all that emissions stuff on the tank! LOL :wink: I take it that stuff will be removed and blocked off?

 

Can you take a pic from the sides of that tank. It looks pretty flat from the pic you got there, which is a good thing cause the 280ZX is pretty flat. Also what are the rough dimensions on that tank?

 

Thanks,

 

Guy :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John,

I was about to throw the well out, but you can have it. The is NO rust on it. Should be easy to cut yours out, drop mone in and weld it up. There is two spots that you need to weld up where I started the cutting with the sawzall. It's just a blades width so, nothing major.

 

Guy,

Yeah, the emissions crap is already removed. Not needed, since the car is registered up near you. :twisted:

I'll get some measurements and take a couple more pictures when I get back from work today.

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Question: I am finishing up the sub-frame connectors and floorpans and would like to choose and install a fuel tank while the car is still on the rotisserie. I don't want a fuel cell and this LT1 tank could be an option for me but...

-Can the internal fuel pump be used w/a carborated SBC(fuel press. decreased)?

-Will it allow the installation of Ferrari GTO style dual exhaust or is it too wide?

-Do heat shields need to be fabbed and positioned between the mufflers and tank and between the filler tube and exhaust?

-What alternative tanks can I use? I want a factory looking tank that permits the filler tube to be positioned close to the stock location. One of the members here (74 5.0L Z) posted a photo of his during a thread discussing suspension (see: Sub-frame connectors and rear sway-bar clearance). His tank set-up looks like a nice clean install; I emailed him to find out what he had but got no response. Does anyone know what tank he has?

-Mike kZ mentioned using the stock tank and relocating it to the center of the car to accomodate duals (see: Fuel Delivery-Fuel cell options to have external filling...??). Can anyone elaborate on this...Mike?

I am a decent fabricator and welder-I just need to know what to start with!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 2002 LS1 Camaro fuel tank measurements are:

13" tall

32 1/2" wide at the front of the tank

28 1/2" wide at the rear of the tank

23" length from the front to the back of the tank

 

Here are some more pictures of the fuel tank:

Left side view of tank

Rear view of tank

Front view of tank

Fuel tank module/fill bucket 1

Fuel tank module/fill bucket 2

 

To understand why I like this tank so much, please read the Racetronix link posted below. It explains the function of the plastic fill bucket. The regulator is inside the fill bucket, so since I have a fuel pressure regulator on my fuel rail, this must come off.

Racetronix

 

The weather this weekend doesn't look promising untill Sunday :cry:

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll try to answer these...

-Can the internal fuel pump be used w/a carborated SBC(fuel press. decreased)? I really don't know. You may be able to swap the pump out with one made for a carb.. Maybe, contact Racetronix?

 

-Will it allow the installation of Ferrari GTO style dual exhaust or is it too wide? I would say yes, you can run a dual exaust.

 

-Do heat shields need to be fabbed and positioned between the mufflers and tank and between the filler tube and exhaust? It would depend on how close you run the exaust to the tank. Contact jeromio or mas280 for their take on this, since they have both installed this LS1 tank and have running cars.

 

-What alternative tanks can I use? I want a factory looking tank that permits the filler tube to be positioned close to the stock location. One of the members here (74 5.0L Z) posted a photo of his during a thread discussing suspension (see: Sub-frame connectors and rear sway-bar clearance). His tank set-up looks like a nice clean install; I emailed him to find out what he had but got no response. Does anyone know what tank he has? Dan Juday used a small tank from a Suzuki. Also, the post that showed 74 5.0L Z's rear underbody, looks to be like he cut the spare tire well out and installed a plastic fuel cell with a sump on it (facing the front of the car??)

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be very curious to see how you get the stock filler to work. I couldn't figure out a way so I had to remove mine - which was actually a huge PITA. I hunter around the junkyard and decided on a 2nd gen Maxima filler. It works, but is not ideal. I think if I decide to redo it (which I should), I will actually block off the filler on the tank and move it back, closer to the filler door location. It's a nylon tank, so , that might be tricky. Then I will weld up the filler door and do something like Dan Juday's filler - a simple all-in-one style external filler and cap.

 

Also, I half-assed it with all those extra lines for vent, etc. I kept the charcoal canister, etc. I think that was a mistake because there are just so many lines. It just seemed like a better idea to have some kind of system to take care of the venting of vapors. But right now I have to be careful when filling b/c if I don't pay attention, fuel spills out of one of those lines - not sure which one.

 

I have an explanation of a way to use the fuel sender on my website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used the stock 240 tank, and welded a sump to it. I cut out the spare tub, centered the tank, made new mounts, and straps. To connect to the stock filler, I used a galvinized 90 degree exhaust pipe ( I think 2 1/4" ) shoved one side up the stock rubber by the quarter panel, hose clamped it on. On the other side I bought some 2 1/4" rubber fuel line (made for connecting tanks to filler necks) clamped it over the exhaust pipe, and the other side connected to the tank. I only needed about 8 " piece of fuel line.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I don't have much, because the weather hasn't been all that great. But I figured I would update with what I have.

 

Remember, this is for my '73 240Z that's 31 years old.

 

I used 1X2" tubing with a 1/8" wall thickness. I bought 8 feet of it. With the spare tire well removed and laying underneath the car, I found the center of the space the fuel tank is going in. Between the frame rails, the center is 14 1/8" at the front and 19 9/16" at the rear. I will have a picture of this measurement that I will post in the future.

 

IMPORTANT:

I offset the tank to the passengers side 1", because the design of the tank tapers in towards the back on the passenger side a bit. I figured this will make the weight of the tank more balanced in the chassis.

 

The drivers side rail that the tank attaches to was cut at 27 3/16". The passenger side rail was cut 26 7/8" (DO NOT use these measurements for your car! I found, after installing my roll cage, that my car was hit in the rear on the passenger side, and it's pushed in a hair over 1/4") The distance between the two rails on the tank is 17" from center to center. The center of the fuel tank is 10 11/16". Look at the link to the picture to see how the center of the fuel tank was measured (from those little "L" things).

 

The LS1 fuel tank has a regulator on the return line, so I gutted it. This was done because the GN engine has a fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail.

 

Pictures:

Fuel tank rails

Measuring the center of the fuel tank

Fuel module

Better picture of fuel pressure regulator

Regulator internals

 

I will have more updates of the finished rails along with more measurements to cut and weld your own.

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I made a lot of progress today on the tank install. It is a bit hard considering that fact that I probably fractured my right wrist. Phil R. heard my wrist snap over the weekend when I went to pick up his weather stripping :lol: .

 

Anyways, I went a different route and instead of using the stock 240Z tank straps, i'm using some metal from the local harware store. I know I was going to have it set up so someone can just use the stock 240Z straps, but after playing with one of my straps, it started to fall apart! I was NOT going to use a 30+ year old part to hold my fuel tank up after seeing this. I have pictures that I will post tommorow. The tank install will be DONE tommorow! I finally have time to finish it :D

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well got her in today. Pain in the ass doing most of this one handed. I will have the measurements posted soon, but for now pictures!

 

Bracket 1

Here you can see the finished bracket. I added a gusset later, which you can see in the other pictures below.

 

Bracket 2

This is a second shot, from a different angle. Notice the two holes in the small length of 1x2. Two bolts hold the tank strap to the bracket. You probably only need one, but I felt better using two.

 

Tank strap

This is the other end of the tank strap. I used some rather large angle iron I had laying around. Doesn't look pretty, but it works.

 

Test fit

This was just a test fit of the bracket to make sure it fit correctly.

 

Almost finished

Here you can see how it bolts together. Instead of using a bicycle innertube between the strap and tank, I used the old ones from the 240Z straps. They just peeled right off and fit perfectly on the new straps. You can also see the gusset I put in, which it didn't need, but I felt safer knowing it was there.

 

Installed

This is a crappy picture of the tank installed. I just got my damn camera back and now I have to take it to get serviced AGAIN! It won't focus right and it eats 2 AA batteries within a minute or so. I have a few other pictures, but they are all fuzzy.

 

If anyone wants the full size pictures, just drop me a e-mail and I'll send them to you.

 

Here is something interesting. I took the LS1 tank with both brackets installed and weighed it... 41 pounds. Then I took the stock 240Z tank and weighed it... 21 pounds. Damn, I gained 20 lbs. :cry: Wait a minute, actually less, because I took the spare tire well out. I think that well weighed about 15-20 lbs. I wish I had weighed it to see if I had actually gained any weight from this tank install.

 

Next I need to fiit the filler tube up to the stock 240Z filler tube. The O.D. of the Camaro filler is the same size as the I.D. of the 240Z filler. I'm going to look into getting a length of rubber fuel hose and lengthen the Camaro's hose a bit, so it fits inside the 240Z tube right up to the filler door. Then use a hose clamp inside the car to clamp it to the 240Z filler tube. There is a few bends, but nothing a stainless steel spring inside the filler tube can't handle (keep it from kinking). I'll see how it pans out when I get some rubber fuel hose.

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That job look harder right side up.. It was alot easier up side down.

Yeah, I had a good laugh after fighting with mine for a few minutes, knowing you did yours with the car upside down. Gravity wasn't my friend today. It would have been SO EASY to do it upside down! It sucks welding on your back. In my best Ralph Wiggum voice, "I smell like burning".

 

I almost forgot, I still need to make the top and door to fit over the old well hole. :oops: Pictures of that coming soon :wink: .

 

!M!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...